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WINTER 2019-20
SCHOOL REPORT GRANDVIEW C-4 SCHOOL DISTRICT
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GRANDVIEW STUDENTS EXPERIENCE REAL-WORLD LEARNING
"Educational Excellence, Unlimited Potential" GRANDVIEW BULLDOG STADIUM UPGRADES Page 5
PLUS PLUS
POINTS OF POINTS OF PRIDE Page 10 PRIDE Page 10
CONTENTS
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Grandview HS Students Experience Real-World Learning Page 6-7
SUPERINTENDENT'S LETTER
Page 3
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
The Board President's Letter Page 4
the SCHOOL REPORT Magazine Published by GC-4 School District Public Relations Contact Info: Sheba Clarke GC-4 Public Relations Coordinator sheba.clarke@grandviewc4.net The School Report magazine is published two times a year. It is distributed to approximately 17,348 households and businesses within the Grandview and Martin City zipcode and displayed on the district’s website. It is the official communication tool for parents, students, staff and patrons of Grandview Schools. Any information, content and photos in this publication are property of the Grandview C-4 School District and are only to be used with permission of the GC-4 Public Relations Department. Grandview C-4 Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer and there shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex, race, creed, national origin, age or disability. The school district is committed to providing appropriate educational services for children with disabilities in compliance with the Individuals of Disabilities Act. The district is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
BOND PROJECTS
Grandview Bulldog Stadium Upgrades Page 5
Safety and Security Upgrades Page 8-9
PRIDE POINTS
Page 10
SCHOOL REPORT 2
Superintendent's
Letter
"DEFINING OUR PATH" It is hard to believe that we are about to complete one decade and enter into another. The year 2020 used to be something out of a science fiction movie and now it will be reality! This transition into a future decade is a perfect opportunity to talk about the upward path the Grandview C-4 School District is currently on. GC-4 Board of Education Leonard Greene, President Monica Terry, Vice President Barbara Polette, Treasurer Paul Alexandar, Member Amy Blankenship, Member Chuck Conforth, Member Dawn Foy, Member GC-4 Administration Dr. Kenny Rodrequez, Superintendent Ann Cook, Assistant Superintendent Operations and Finance Dr. Joana King, Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction Lori DeAnda, Assistant Superintendent Human Resource Development
Our facilities got a contemporary upgrade as the District enjoyed the opening of our new stadium a few months ago which will continue to provide opportunities to highlight our current and future student athletes for many years to come. Our academics have illustrated a slight increase which we believe will be the beginning of a trend for the next several years. One of the most exciting current and future plans includes a district wide focus on career pathways for our students. It is my personal goal and the focus of the school district to provide every student that walks across our stage at graduation with a pathway; whether it leads to college, skilled trades, or immediately into the workforce with an industry recognized credential. We want all students to explore their passions while they are in our schools so that they don’t have to struggle to find that passion when they leave us. This work has been developed over the past few years at our high school and is now part of a Kansas City metro initiative. For the next decade, you will see our students graduating with a more clear focus on their future. These graduating Bulldogs will not just leave us with a diploma, but will leave with assets such as college credits, internship hours, and entrepreneurship experiences that will make them more marketable, and successful, in 2020 and beyond. As we enter the next decade, I am proud to know the Grandview C-4 School District still has one mission: to prepare ALL students to be college and career ready through high quality instruction and meaningful relationships. We will continue to partner with our city, our community, and all stakeholders to ensure we are able to fully realize this mission over the next decade and beyond. I am proud to be your Superintendent and appreciate all of you for being valued community partners. -Dr. Kenny Rodrequez Superintendent of Grandview C-4 Schools SCHOOL REPORT 3
www.grandviewc4.net
SCHOOL REPORT 3
BOARD PRESIDENT'S LETTER Season’s Greetings! I hope this correspondence finds you in great health and spirits. The holiday season marks the halfway point of the school year; which presents a good opportunity to celebrate recent successes, as well as look forward to continued growth and opportunities for students. Our FOCUS students’ Amazing Brain exhibit at Union Station continues to inspire young minds. Several high school students brought home medals from the 10th Annual Prep KC Math Relays. Our high school robotics and elementary school FIRST Lego League teams are also thriving. Meadowmere Elementary’s team, the Mechanical Maniacs, won Best Robot Performance and the Championship Award by scoring the highest in the region at a local FIRST Lego League Robotics competition. The Superintendent and several Grandview High School students participated in a special town hall segment on KCPT that focused on the changing workforce and what new approaches schools are taking to prepare students, such as our career pathways. We also continue making upgrades to our facilities. We were thrilled to share our new and improved Grandview Bulldog Stadium with our community this fall. The Board of Education is grateful for your support on behalf of our children and encourages you to continue supporting our talented and deserving youth.
LEONARD GREENE Board of Education President
We are strong, we are resilient, we are motivated, WE ARE GRANDVIEW! Sincerely, Leonard C. Greene
BOARD BRIEFS Stay informed with what's taking place at the Grandview C-4 School Board meetings by checking out our Board Briefs. The Board Brief provides details on Board discussions, actions and items of interest to our community. Please check Board Briefs often to stay up to date on the important decisions being made in our district. Find Board Briefs at www.grandviewc4.net. Click 'About Us' then 'Board of Education.'
SCHOOL REPORT 4
GRANDVIEW BULLDOG
STADIUM UPGRADES
Welcome to Grandview Bulldog Stadium Grandview High School's athletic stadium opened its doors for the first time Homecoming weekend, in September, since being newly renovated. The enhancements include new ADA compliant bleachers, a new press box and a state of the art digital scoreboard. The stadium renovations cost a total of about $2million. Funds for the project were made possible from the 2017 bond issue that was passed with the community's support. The district is hoping that the scoreboard portion of the project will also be funded through sponsorship opportunities that include naming rights, digital advertising and more. For interest in advertising in the stadium please call Central Office at 816-316-5000. SCHOOL REPORT 5
YROTS ERUTAEF
CHRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ GHS SENIOR
EBONI BASTON GHS JUNIOR
GHS STUDENTS EXPERIENCE REAL-
WORLD LEARNING Real world learning is a focal point in the district’s high school curriculum. This year Grandview High School expanded its Career Pathway model which aims to ensure that every Grandview student has the opportunity to explore the many career options available to them. Once students identify a pathway they will be exposed to individualized opportunities to have Market Value Assets (MVAs) that ensure they are better prepared to succeed in their chosen career field. MVAs include dual credit, industry recognized credentials, authentic work-based experiences and scholarship opportunities. Students Eboni Baston and Christian Rodriguez are earning their Market Value Assets while attending a College and Computer Science class at Cerner Corporation, an American supplier of health information technology solutions, services, devices and hardware. During the school day, the students are bused over to the Cerner Realization campus. There they meet other students in a morning class. Rodriguez describes each day as being a different learning experience. SCHOOL REPORT 6
Students in the program also have the opportunity to take a free dual credit class through the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) in Computer Science. “This means that while we are doing projects and presentations we are also doing collegelevel work,” said Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a senior at Grandview High School and on the path of becoming an engineer and entrepreneur. “Technology has always been a major interest of mine. I want to pursue a career path that will let me indulge in my interest while also being a way for me to create positive change and help others,” he says. Baston is in the 11th grade and is on the career path to be in the medical profession. The job she’d like to pursue is still up in the air. “I have always been interested in helping people," said Baston. "My goal is to graduate college with a master’s degree, and start my path to becoming something in the medical field. I will probably stay in Missouri for college.” Baston says her experience in the College and Computer Science class at Cerner has opened her mind to more opportunities in the technology profession. She has also learned new skills, such as working with programs like Python and HTML.
“The class provides us with first-hand reallife situations in the real world. Also it helps me fulfill my passion for working with people, and gives me experience,” said Baston. “This helps me become more professional, and I learn how to work in a professional environment.” Rodriguez says he’s also learned three programming languages and other life skills. “I have also learned how to prepare for an interview, create a strong resume', and give an effective presentation,” said Rodriguez. Both students will be eligible for a spring and summer internship at Cerner in 2020. “This internship will be a major help in achieving my goals. The internship will provide me with connections that will be important to my future and allow me to get experience in my career path while I am still in high school,” said Rodriguez If there’s any advice they’d like to offer other students about the career pathway process, it is to make sure you experience everything before choosing. “You might find something that you’re more interested in and if not, you are still one step closer to finding out what you want to be, because you know something that you do not want to be in life, " said Baston.
SCHOOL REPORT 7
YROTS ERUTAEF
“One day we have to do presentations on a persuasive argument. Another day we are learning how to program a website. We are given a lot of freedom when it comes to where we want to work and what we want to work on,” said Rodriguez.
SAFETY AND SECURITY UPGRADES
GRANDVIEW C-4 INTRODUCES NEW VISITOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Keeping our students and staff safe is always a top priority in the Grandview C-4 School District. Our goal is to continuously look for ways to enhance our safety efforts by knowing who is in our school buildings at all times. Beginning the Spring 2020 semester an additional level of safety will be added to manage visitors in our schools. The district will be using the Raptor system to track visitors who enter the school office to sign out students and/or enter the school. The Raptor System will work by allowing school office staff to register visitors with a valid state-issued ID. Registration takes a few minutes the first time, because it requires an office staff member to complete the process and has to be done annually. After that, all you have to do is check in and get a visitor's badge. The Raptor Visitor Management system screens for sex offenders, alerts staff of custody violations and provides district-wide reporting for all visitors. Here’s a list of frequently asked questions to provide you with more information: SCHOOL REPORT 8
Why do we need a visitor management system like Raptor? Part of keeping our students safe is knowing who is in our buildings at all times. The Raptor system allows us to track visitors, contractors and volunteers in our schools, as well as manage student checkout. Raptor conducts a limited background check against the national database of registered sex offenders. This helps us make sure visitors follow our district procedures when visiting our schools beyond the school office or signing out a student. Visitors entering a school beyond the office receive a printed ID sticker that must be worn and visible during the entire stay. This makes it easier for our school staff to know who is allowed inside the school.
What forms of ID does the system accept? Raptor accepts any state-issued ID, including state-issued driver’s licenses, state ID cards, concealed handgun licenses, military IDs, government IDs, Canadian driver’s licenses, Mexican driver’s licenses, Mexican consulate IDs and alien registration receipt cards. What if I don’t have a valid form of ID or don’t want it scanned? If you don’t have a state-issued ID or don’t want your ID scanned, there is still a way for you to get access to our schools and sign out students, but you will not be able to enter the school without a staff member with you. You will need to speak directly with school office staff members, who will ask for your legal name, date of birth, relationship to the student and reason for visiting. Office staff will manually confirm your identification, run a background check and make sure you are listed as someone who can sign out a student. This may take a few minutes longer than the ID scan to complete. You will always have to produce some type of picture ID.
Raptor also checks our student information system to make sure you are permitted to sign out a student. School staff members might also place notifications on your accounts to help keep your contact information current. An example might be a request to update your primary phone number if one is no longer working.
Are vendors and other regular school visitors who enter the building required to have an ID scanned? Yes. Everyone who enters the building beyond the school office will be required to have an ID scanned and wear a printed ID sticker.
Will you scan my ID every time I visit? The first time you come to the school office this year, office staff will scan your ID and register you in the system. Your registration will be good at all school buildings. After you have registered, you will be able to scan your own ID at a kiosk in the school office when you visit. If you are entering the building beyond the school office, an ID sticker will print for you to wear during your stay. ID stickers make it easy for school staff to know you checked in and are approved to visit. What information does Raptor scan and keep? Raptor collects and stores your full name, date of birth, first four digits of your license number and photo when your ID is scanned. It does not keep a digital copy of your ID. How does Raptor keep my data secure? Raptor uses firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, host integrity monitoring and port filtering, as well as the latest security processes to protect all of its systems and data. All information entered into Raptor gets encrypted using 256-bit AES encryption. Raptor does not share data with any third parties. What if I have an outstanding warrant or am undocumented? Will you report me to the police or immigration? The National Sex Offender Public Registry and the district’s student information system are the only two databases that Raptor checks. The system will not alert office staff or even know if you have an outstanding warrant or are undocumented.
What happens if I am a registered sex offender but have a child at the school? Upon scanning your ID, a silent alert goes to administrative staff members so they can meet with you privately. Missouri Statute 566.149.1 requires any parent, legal guardian or custodian who is a registered sex offender to request permission to be present on a school campus from the superintendent or school board. If permission is granted, the superintendent or school board president must inform the principal of the school where the sex offender will be present. Permission may be granted by the superintendent or school board for more than one event at a time, such as a series of events; however, the parent, legal guardian or custodian must obtain permission for any other event he or she wishes to attend for which he or she has not yet had permission granted. If you have permission for your visit, you will be allowed, with supervision, to continue into the building to contact your child. This supervision will ensure your rights are protected in a controlled environment.
Do other schools and institutions use a system like this? Yes. Many surrounding districts use Raptor or similar visitor management systems to help ensure school and student safety.
What type of background check does Raptor run?
The Grandview School District does cooperate with police. If authorities contact us to alert us to someone who Raptor scans your name, date of birth and might pose a threat to school safety, this a photo for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders, but information can be entered into the it does not check criminal or traffic history. system so administration gets alerted if that person visits one of our schools.
SCHOOL REPORT 9
POINTS OF PRIDE Grandview Bulldog Stadium Renovations
The Grandview C-4 School District's athletic stadium opened its doors for the first time during Homecoming, in September, since being newly renovated. The enhancements include new bleachers, a new press box and a state of the art digital scoreboard. The stadium renovations cost a total of about $2-million. Funds for the project were made possible from the 2017 bond issue supported by majority of the community. The district is hoping that the scoreboard portion of the project will also be funded through sponsorship opportunities that include naming rights, digital advertising and more.
Meadowmere Teacher Mrs. Cullum Earns 'Read to Achieve' Award Congratulations to Meadowmere Elementary School teacher Mrs. Michelle Cullum for being recognized as a Read to Achieve recipient by MNEA. Her class celebrated the award with KCTV5 News Kansas City. She also received a $1000 check and a class visit from Meteorologist Erin Little.
Meadowmere Elementary School Lego League Win Regional Qualifying Tournament The Meadowmere Mechanical Maniacs won their qualifying FIRST LEGO League tournament in November. The win stamped their tickets to once again compete at the Regional competition for the fifth year in a row!
GHS Students Earn Market Value Assets through Cerner Internship Program Grandview High School is proud to have students accepted into the Cerner Internship program, Pathways to Technology. The Pathways to Technology program offers a unique classroom experience at Cerner paired with potential internships during the spring and summer at one of the Cerner campuses. This program is designed to teach transferable skills such as programming, web design, information technology and project management. In the fall, the students took a dual credit college technology class at Cerner with the possibility of an internship in the spring.
Meadowmere Elementary School Spreads Kindness Throughout the Country Rocks In September, Meadowmere students spent an afternoon having an assembly and creating kindness rocks. The students got a chance to paint a rock, add a kind message, place a sticker on the back and then shellac the whole rock to make it waterproof. After the rocks were created, staff members took all 400+ rocks and dispersed them around Grandview. Since then, people have been finding them and posting pictures of the rock along with the story of how they found it. They place the photos and stories on the Meadowmere Rocks Facebook page. It has been an amazing project that is yielding the results that Meadowmere had hoped for. Some of the Meadowmere Rocks have made their way to other states and foreign countries where people continue to post about them.
During the internships, students are placed on teams alongside professionals working on real-world projects. SCHOOL REPORT 10
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